M37 in Fort Collins Colorado

drowe44 · Post by **drowe44** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:35 pm

Any M37 owners in the Fort Collins colorado area? I'd like to compare performance with another stock powered truck.

rixm37 · Post by **rixm37** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:08 pm

Hi Drowe sorry no one seems to be near you. Maybe you could just post some performance questions and we can help you out here on the forum.

sbaumgartner · Post by **sbaumgartner** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:45 am

Hi drowe ...

I *used* to live in Fort Collins/Loveland a couple of decades ago. Does that count?

I live in the mountains west of Denver now and have a stock truck running at 8500' elevation -- pretty sluggish but we get around.

PM if you want to compare notes. Don't know if I dare drive mine up I-25 to visit, but maybe meet somewhere in-between ...

There's also a MV dealer in Fort Collins who I think has a few M37s ... John Ferrie. Never dealt with him, so don't know if he'd be available to help, but couldn't hurt to try.

Steve

uglyranger · Post by **uglyranger** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:09 pm

Hey, Steve: are you running 85 octane gas in your M37? Folks down here in the flat lands may not know about gas in the high country.

sbaumgartner · Post by **sbaumgartner** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:03 pm

Hey there ... Yup, I'm running 85 in my truck. Seems to do just fine. We have 85, 87 and 91 here.

drowe44 · Post by **drowe44** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:19 am

My truck has a recently rebuilt enginge. I live at about 7000 feet. It is pretty sluggish. Can get it up to almost 50 mph going down a steep hill. 45 mph is absolute tops on the level. Any uphill and it starts to slow down. On steeper hills I end up down in first gear. That seems a bit sluggish even for the old 230. Acceleration is always very slow. Can anyone describe how their truck performs? I checked the fuel supply and it is OK. the carb was rebuilt about three years ago (same time as the engine) but it looks like it is running rich to me (black deposits on tailpipe). I haven't been able to determine if the timing is right or not but it starts easy.

sbaumgartner · Post by **sbaumgartner** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:33 pm

drowe:

Your performance sounds similar to mine at 8500'. I don't have a rebuilt engine, but my compression numbers are still good. I have to get down into 1st to climb steep hills too and 45mph max on the flats sounds about right. Although, I don't think a stock truck gets up much past 45mph with the 5.83 rear end even at sea level.

I did spend some time getting the timing right, running up and down the hills to get the best performance. I know Charles recommends setting the timing to 4 degrees BTDC, but I advanced mine even further to find the sweet spot for my altitude.

I just enjoy my truck for what it is and use my big Ford for any real work.

Steve

drowe44 · Post by **drowe44** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:40 pm

Generally speed isn't an issue for me. I use the truck around the property. Mine is set up as a brush fire truck in the summer and a plow truck in the winter. This summer I have been using it to water trees 20 miles away for an eagle scout project. Hauling 200 gallons of water I expect to be crawling uphill but I had hoped for a little better with the tank empty.

sbaumgartner · Post by **sbaumgartner** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:48 pm

Sounds like yours does real work

Maybe others will chime in with some ideas on how to improve performance. I've thought about re-jetting the carb, but I'm not sure where to find non-stock jets for these carbs.

GregL · Post by **GregL** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:02 pm

I was curious about performance too. My truck is at about 4,000' and does fine on level ground, but definitely has trouble on hills. I've only had my truck for a short time and am about to do my first tune up. I was wondering about leaning the mixture, but I'm not sure how to do it, or if it is a good idea.

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